Quincy, IL Radar

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Many people just read the headlines. That's why I said "Up Front". The more significant point is not that this was a Native American family, but that he is another Mexican we brought in to work while we have high unemployment (and record low labor participation rate). Despite many being good people, many have no respect for our laws. We need to push some of the welfare people into these green…

In fact they have listed the names of the young people in the obituary section of the paper, they just don't put heroine or shotgun, or rope as the cause of death or list it specifically as a suicide... Word of mouth and social media is how we know who what when where and why... old people have killed themselves forever, we just don't list the cause of death out of deference to the family.

Let's ask President Trump what he would do. Is it just me or are there more Mexicans involved in killings now than there were? Yes, I know there are more pouring out of the ant hill south of our border, but it seems that we are getting more and more of their scum.

They used to publish in the newspaper (in an out of the way area) the results of a Coroner's Inquest Have not seen that done here in quite a while. I was also told years ago that if you use a Public entity, IE ambulance, fire department and/or police it is not confidential information but that does not mean the Media has an obligation to report..... An inquest is an inquiry held in public…

Quinn administration refuses to explain IDOT hiring fix

11 months, 3 weeks ago by Associated Press

Administration said it had already taken action

When a good-government campaigner sued Gov. Pat Quinn in April over political hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation, the administration responded that it had already taken action by reviewing and reclassifying jobs, which wouldn't be subject to political considerations in the future.

But asked to explain what it did, the Quinn administration has refused to identify which jobs were redefined or how state officials determined whether anti-patronage rules applied - because it has made no final decisions.

The administration's rejection of a Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press, citing a clause in the law that protects preliminary deliberations, contradicts its earlier declaration that it had reviewed job descriptions, reclassified posts, and fixed the political hiring practice after the release of a critical watchdog report last year.

The IDOT employment issue is one of several nagging Quinn as the Democrat portrays himself as a lifelong government reformer amid a stiff re-election battle against Republican businessman Bruce Rauner. Quinn says he has ended the clout-stained hiring practices of his predecessors and made government openness a hallmark of his administration, but Rauner and other critics question his commitment to it.

The FOIA denial contradicts the administration's assertion that it fixed the problem in the spring. The administration also is refusing to disclose the guidelines the government has used for two decades to decide which jobs must be open to any applicant and which can be given to someone because of his or her political connections.

"Government agencies are not allowed to have secret rules or laws that they use to make decisions," said Matt Topic, a government transparency lawyer with the Chicago firm of Loevy & Loevy who has represented government watchdog groups and others in FOIA cases.

Quinn's office referred questions to the state personnel agency, which handles such reviews. Department of Central Management Services spokeswoman Alka Nayyar acknowledged in an emailed statement that the process had not been completed. She said records would not be released until the review is done, but would not say when that will be.

"Following CMS's final review and determination, IDOT is currently finalizing the position descriptions you requested and will make them available to you as soon as possible," she wrote, adding that getting the process "done right" is a "top priority."

The latest questions surrounding IDOT hiring surfaced when Michael Shakman, a Chicago attorney with a 40-year history of opposing illegal patronage hiring in Cook County, filed a federal court motion seeking an investigation and an independent monitor to oversee the agency's employment practices.

He was responding to an August 2013 Better Government Association report that Quinn and his predecessor, the now-imprisoned Rod Blagojevich, had hired as many as 200 "staff assistants" without adhering to rules that prohibit political considerations and without properly offering the jobs to the general public.